Christmas Special
by zabani-chan
Summary: A christmas oneshot full of slight fluff, love, and almostheartbreak. hope you enjoy! SasSak


Christmas Special

zabani-chan

**Disclaimer: just a little thing for Christmas. Its a little late...but oh well. Here you go!**

Sakura stood on his frontstep for a while, her cheeks a bright red from the cold. She wore a white winter jacket with a fluffy hood that reached her knees and hugged her body, and white gloves. Underneath she wore a red turtleneck with form-fitting blue jeans, and hiking boots. She shivered a little and held the box tighter.

'I wonder if he's not home right now.' she looked to her left at the window. The lights were still off. She sighed. She bent down and sat the gift down gently. She stood back up and turned around, heading home. She took one last glance towards the closed door and left, closing the giant Uchiha gate behind her.

Sasuke watched her leave. He didn't know why he hadn't just opened the door and let her hand him the gift. Instead, he let stand outside for about half an hour in the snow. He went towards his front door and opened it, looking at the gate for a minute before glancing at the box on the ground. It was wrapped with a dark blue paper, and had a black ribbon on top. He picked it up and closed the door.

He wasn't stupid. He knew what day it was. It was Christmas, a day he hated because all it did was make people bubbly (or i Naruto's case, even **more** bubbly) and happy. They visited loved ones and had a merry time. But he didn't have any loved ones anymore. They were all gone. All because of Itachi. He sat down on the couch, and stared at the gift. He couldn't remember the last time he ever got a Christmas present. He slowly opened it, ripping the wrapping. He sat the blue paper to the side, and looked at the small box it held. He opened it, and his eyes widened.

It was a locket. Inside were two pictures. On the left was Team 7. Naruto to the right, Sakura in the middle, him on the left, and Kakashi behind Sakura, his hands on top of his and Naruto's heads. On the right was a picture of him and Sakura, both dressed in expensive kimono. He remebered that day like it was yesterday.

That day there was a festival. Sakura wanted to go, but didn't have enough money to pay for the kimono she wanted. She needed a few more dollars, and had begged him to help her, saying she would pay him back. He had helped her pay for it, and then had bought himself a yukata, saying he would go with her. Her kimono was red, with a white sash that had cherry blossoms on it. His had a white top, with a dark blue bottom and a white sash. Naruto had snapped this picture of them, just when Sakura had put cotton candy in his mouth, a bright smile on her face.

Come to think of it, when was the last time he had seen her smile like that? When he thought about it, not since that night, because the next day, he had been cold to her. And had been ever since. He didn't know why, but taking her to that festival and having fun like that had brought up memories he hadn't wanted to remember, and it had put him in a bad mood.

He sighed, put the locket around his neck, and looked into the box to see if there was anything else. There was. A note. He picked it slowly, suddenly afraid of what the little piece of paper held.

His body shook and his eyes widened and he read it. He stood up quickly and dropped the note and box on the ground, hurrying out the door.

_Dear Sasuke, _

_I have decided that I will give Lee a chance. He seems to care about me more that you do. I doubt you even see me as a worthy teammate. I'm sorry to say that my feelings for you are fading every day you're cold to me. I see now that loving you had been a mistake, and I wasted most of my life chasing after you instead of following my own dream. I know that I am as strong as you or Naruto now, and I'm not going to waste what I've rightfully earned, but instead use it to help others. I'm going to quit Team 7, and start working at the hospital, so you can continue your own dream of chasing down and killing your brother. So you don't have to worry about me trying to stop you this time if you decide to leave, and being a burden anymore. I'm going to let you, because I know that I will never be what you want, and I don't think I can make myself be what you want. So I've decided...to let my feelings for you go. I will spend tonight thinking about al the times we spent together, the good and bad of them, and never give them a second thought again._

_Goodbye,_

_ Sakura_

Sakura sat on the bench that Sasuke left her own years ago when he decided to leave Konoha. Back then, after he left, and after she started her training under the now deceased Tsunade, what she wasted. Her own life had been meaningless then, but now it had purpose. She had strength beyond that of normal men, and medical skills that had surpassed her sensei. Tsunade had said that she could now rest in peace, now that she knew she passed her skills to a new generation. A generation that had surpassed her in everything. She looked at the hospital that loomed in teh sky, it's roof visible over the many buildings that seperated it from her. that was where she would start working as of tomorrow. She had already talked to the manager about it. They had agreed, especially when she had said she was trained by the Godaime herself. She had yet to talk to the hokage (Shizune had taken it up, saying she would be Hokage until Naruto was old enough) about her leaving Team 7 to work as a medic-nin full time.

Rushing footsteps made her look up. Her eyes merely widened slightly when she saw Sasuke running towards her, an angry look on his face. She was glad when she saw the locket bouncing around his neck. He stopped in front of her, panting slightly. She kept her gaze level with his, knwoing he had read the note and was not happy about it's contents. He glared at her.

"Why?" he asked. She decied to play dumb for a little bit.

"Why what?" she asked in return.

"Don't act like you don't know!" he yelled. He was trembling, she realized, and not from the cold.

"Why are leaving Team 7?! Why?!" he demanded. She was quiet, staring at him as if calculating whether or not he was going to attack her.

"Simple." she said, leaning back, "So I can work full time at the hospital. I can't have missions interfering whith my work." she said.

"You don't work there."

"Yes, I do, in fact. I've already talked to the manager. My uniform is at home, hanging up. I start tomorrow morning." she said calmly. His rage was not left un-noticed, and he that she was tense, as if expecting an attack.

"You can still be a part of the team, and still work there at the same time." he said, clenchin his teeth. She shook her head.

"No, I can't. If I'm still on the team, then when they assign team missions, I'll have to quit my job to go on that mission. And besides, we both know that missions pat less that hospitals. And with me living alone now that my parents are dead, I need that money."

"I live alone.."

"Yes. But you were part of a clan. You're filthy rich. All the money you have will last you a couple of life times with only one person using it." she interrupted. He gritted his teeth. He knew she was right.

"Fine. Then what about your feelings for me? You said they were fading. Didn't you promise me that you would love me forever? That you would always be by my side?" he asked. Her eyes widened slighty. She had forgotten that promise. By the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes, he remebered, and knew she had forgotten. He walked closer, and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her up to her feet. He kept his grip on her tight.

"Well?"

"I'm sorry for forgetting. But you didn't really expect me to keep it when I knew I could never really be by your side forever, not with you hating my very presence."

"I don't hate you."

She looked at him in surprise. His gaze had softened, and his grip loosened slightly. She didn't move, though, in too much shock.

"What do you mean?" she asked softly, her voice shaking.

"I could never hate you. And I've never considered you to be a burden. I was glad that you were weak then, because always saving you gave me a sense of happiness, knowing that I could, at least, save one person close to me. I loved protecting you. The only reason I've been so cold to you lately, is because I've just started to realize how strong you've become. It made me realized that you no longer needed me to protect you. I started to feel...like you leaving me alone, and taking away my one purpose in life."

"but... I thought that killing you brother came first?" she asked. He smiled slightly. A sad sort of smile.

"Don't you remember? I said, when we first became a team, that I had two goals? One to kill my brother, the other to restore my clan."

"But..." she started, but he placed a finger over her lips, silencing her.

"The first one can wait. I know...that if I go to kill my brother, that I might not survive. And then I'll never be able to do the other goal. If I start to restore my clan first, then if I do die fighting Itachi, then I'll at least know that my clan has begun to resurface."

"Then...what your saying is..."

"Yes...that I love you. I always have."

"Then why did you leave?" she asked, looking at the ground.

"To protect you." he said softly.

"Protect me? You leaving nearly broke me!" she shouted. He brought her closer to him, hugging her tightly, and burying his face in her neck.

"I thought...that if I stayed and let myself love you...then Itachi might come and take you away. I didn't want to loose anyone close to me again." he murmered. Her eyes widened, and he pulled back just enough to see her face.

"So..do you think...you could give me a chance? To love you like you deserve?" he asked. She was silent for a while, before she smiled at him.

"I think I can."

He smirked before claiming her lips, happiness soaring through him. The snow falling around them gave them an angelic look, the Christmas music playing softly in the background from all over the city. They knew that this was a day nether would ever forget, and would never be apart. Their lives may be a little different, but as long as they each other, they would treck through hell and back to give the other the world.

END

I hope you all liked it. I think I got kind of off track a little bit, bu I hope it turned out pretty good. Please tell what you think.

Ja Ne and a Merry Christmas!


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